TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Industry minister admits legal loopholes enable transshipment through RI
Textile associations have urged provincial Trade Ministry offices, which are authorized to issue certificates of origin (SKA), to tighten the issuance procedures and verify whether export goods are genuinely produced in Indonesia.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita speaks on Feb. 26, 2025, during a press conference at the ministry's office in Jakarta. (TJP/Ni Made Tasyarani)
I
ndustry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has acknowledged that Indonesia is being used as a transshipment hub by countries seeking to sidestep tariffs imposed on China by importing countries including the United States.
He noted that, while some of these practices are illegal, others may appear legal on paper.
"The key [document] in transshipment cases is the certificate of origin (SKA), which is not issued by the Industry Ministry," Agus said during a hearing with House of Representatives Commission VII on Tuesday.
"There are indeed regulations that allow such cases, where foreign goods enter Indonesia, acquire a 'Made in Indonesia' label, and are then reexported to the destination country."
He stopped short of detailing specific cases but said such practices undermined the ministry’s efforts to bolster local manufacturing, as they added little value to the domestic economy.
The issue has taken on new urgency after the White House recently imposed an additional 32 percent tariff on Indonesian exports.
According to Agus, transshipment was among the issues raised by the US Trade Representative (USTR), which has called on Jakarta to address the loophole.
